Everyday Freak Of Science - Tumblr Posts

I have something to say about the What If Yuu Didn't Want to Go Back series.

Recently, I have come to realize that I cannot upload one part a day and still post long, quality updates. I need some time to figure out how to get the plot to go where I want it to, among other things.

For that reason, the series will be put on hiatus- but fear not! I will return to it when I know what I'm doing. Also:

I am starting a new series, which will be uploaded while I plan out WiYDWtGB. Part one will be uploaded later today.

I hope I can continue to post content that entertains you all!

Everyday Freak of Science: part 1

(I, the author of this work, do not consent to this work being crossposted/translated without my knowledge or used to train an AI, ever.)

Masterlist

Where am I? A box? A...coffin? That last one makes the most sense. I can't breathe in here; there's no water.

Oh. They've discarded me. I suppose my existence became more of a burden then a point of pride. Then again, I don't think I should've been a point of pride in the first place.

Suddenly, the lid opens, and I am sprawled out on cold stone. I still cannot breathe, but I suppose this was always going to be my fate.

Footsteps. Heels, clacking on the ground, closer and closer, approaching. I can see shoes now, paused in front of me. I don't recognize them. Is this a stranger? Did the lab get a new researcher?

"Well, this is a problem."

The voice sounds unfamiliar, like someone I've never met. Male, probably.

The heels clack again. I see the person leave, jogging, and the room is silent once again.

Goodbye, mysterious stranger. Have a nice day.

Wait, the clacking is back. And it... brought a friend?

"Oh! Yes, that little pup certainly needs some help. I don't think he can breathe."

The new voice is also unfamiliar. I see the furry ends of a long coat, and black shoes, and, oh, the newer guy is lifting my head up.

"Drink this. Quickly, pup!"

Before I can protest, the newer one has lifted my face and poured something down it. I struggle for a moment, but soon discover something.

My scales, grey in most and black in part, are vanishing. My tail splits into legs, and my gills close in favor of lungs, and I can suddenly breathe.

"What just...Happened?"

The man with the long coat appears amused. "First time? Don't worry about it. The potions are free of charge for students who need them."

Students? Is this a school? Am I... normal? No, this has to be another experiment. They've never studied my behavior beyond "how sharklike is his brain?"

Then again... this doesn't feel malicious, or curious. This man, this strange, unfamiliar man, just seems like he's being nice.

"Are you going to go back in your box? We need to start the ceremony."

Bird Man is talking again. What ceremony? I've never been in one of those. Maybe... maybe this will be fun.

Time to figure out how to walk.

"One foot in front of the other, pup. It takes some getting used to, I know."

Surprisingly, it's...not that difficult. The only hard part is balance, but some part of me rights myself when I'm about to fall. That's probably my human genes.

Soon, I'm back in my box. It's cozy, now that I can breathe in here. I didn't expect that.

I hear something- footsteps. Hundreds, all filing into the vast chamber. Why are there so many people here?

Students. Entrance ceremony. Is this how the first day starts at schools? Thinking about it brings about some kind of feeling... joy? I wouldn't know, but I like this.

After a few long seconds, I fall into a sleep. How strange, I wasn't tired. Oh, well.

I wake. Was I asleep for only a second? Oh, well. There's people- what do I do? So many of them, face after face after face-

I don't know how I know what to do, but something says to leave my cozy box, walk in front of the floating ellipse, face it directly- there's a face, like an enchanted mask, on the other side.

It stares. For a moment, it stares, and then it speaks.

"Octanville!"

I turn around. Someone with glasses and off-white hair that's just the slightest bit blue motions for me to stand behind him. I follow.

"Hello," whispers a voice next to me. I turn, frantically searching for the source, and find a boy with teal hair, mismatched eyes, and a soft smile. "I am Jade, vice housewarden of Octanville. What is your name?"

I don't answer at first. I'm too busy looking at this guy's teeth- triangular teeth, just like mine. Teeth from the ocean, meant for catching prey.

"I'm talking to you, with the grey hair that has black tips. Can you hear me?"

This time, I talk. He's waiting for an answer now, and I ought to give him one.

"Y-yes."

He smiles again, teeth hidden behind his lips. "What is your name?"

I recall the name I was given by the researchers. On paper, I was 18-24C. In practice, I was The Little Mershark, him, eight-dash, blacktip, sharkie, and, by the one researcher who treated me like something sentient, like something with feelings and fears and the capacity to wonder, I was called "Requiem."

Mostly, though, people just called me "You." It got so common, they started spelling it Y-u-u to avoid confusion.

My favorite name was the one the nice scientist gave me, "Requiem."

"All right. That's a very pretty name, Requiem. What's your last name?"

Oh, I said that out loud. Just the name, I hope. What did he ask? My last name? Well, the closest thing I've ever had to a name is Requiem, so... wait! Humans have a formal name, their last name, and a casual name, their first one. Was Requiem more formal?

It was both. Crap. What do I tell this guy?

"Melanopterus." Well, that's the back half of my scientific name, so... It counts, right?

"M-e-l-a-n-o-p-t-e-r-u-s?"

"Uh... yep."

How did he get that? No matter, I think I have a chance. Maybe, just maybe, this is a place where my existence isn't a mistake. Or, maybe, this is a place where my existence as a mistake is okay.

Everyday Freak of Science: part 2

(I, the author of this work, do not consent to this work being crossposted/translated without my knowledge or used to train an AI, ever.)

Masterlist

Incredible.

When I first heard the place was fancy, I started to fear that the place would be like the fancy lab I was made and raised in: sterile white, repeating halls with no decor and only intuition to determine which hall's where.

But, this? This is incredible. There's water- I can't swim or "touch" it, per say, but I can feel it- a comforting pressure on my being. Everything is a kind of fancy I'm not used to: more modern, with décor, color, shapes, and an overall oceany feel I'm not used to, although I should be. I am a shark in part, after all.

I'm hit with inner conflict rather soon: some part of me, the shark part, feels at home and in place. The other part of me- the part that was made instead of sampled from an embryo- feels like I don't belong; like I'm contaminating this beauty with my unnaturalness.

My feelings must soon be pushed aside, though. Before long, I get a real introduction, along with the rest of Octanville's shiny new students: the boy with the off-white hair stands on some kind of raised platform, the lights shut off, and a fucking spotlight shines upon him.

"I am Azul Ashengrotto," he starts, "your new housewarden. Welcome to Octanville. This dorm is based on the benevolence of the Sea Witch, something we try our best to embody, in part by running a café: the Monstro Lounge, which all of you will have the opportunity to work at. Volunteers are always appreciated. First-year dorms are down that hallway. First come, first served, two per room. Choose wisely, as you will be sleeping there until the end of the school year. You are dismissed."

Well, that was sudden. Hey, wait- I'm gonna be late! I want a good pick of the rooms. Should I run? That's what the others are doing. Okay, I'll try- ow! Okay, that hurt. Guess I'm just going to have to try again.

Okay, I can do it now! Let's see... I was near the hallway entrance back at the lab, so I want to be close to the end of this hall. Is there a room? Yep! Mine. I'll take the bed on the left.

Hey, I don't have any stuff... guess I'll just lie on this bed to claim it, then. Ooh, this is extremely soft!

I don't wake up until Jade wakes me up, softly shaking me and whispering.

"Wake up, Requiem. We have something to discuss."

My tired mind recalls a memory: my favorite researcher, softly shaking me awake just like this whenever I dozed off during a test. I like this.

"There you are. Come with me."

The room on the right side of the bed looks like someone else has claimed it. No suprise, there's only so many rooms.

Jade leads me to a place that reminds me of the managers' offices from the shows I was sometimes shown for testing and research. It's probably just that: an office. Azul sits at the desk, clearly waiting.

"Hello, Requiem. It has come to my attention that you are the only student who is not on the list. Why is that?"

"Um. I don't know..."

"Why not?"

"It's my first day..."

"Well, obviously." Azul sighs. "What day did you submit your application?"

Application? "I didn't apply for a job."

"College application. When did you submit it?"

"I'm here as a student, aren't I? Not staff."

"That's... ugh. Okay, allow me to clarify: I have your name and year. I have your year because you just arrived and transfers have a special entry process, which you did not go through, and I have your name because Jade got it at the entrance ceremony. That's it. No birthday, no species, no age, no native language, nothing. As housewarden, that makes much of this very difficult."

Oh, I get it. He wants to make a file on me.

"My name is Requiem Melanopterus. I'm 16 years old. I am a blacktip reef shark, I was made on March 24, and my native language is English, though I am also fluent in Russian, Dutch, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, German, French, and Polish."

They both appear shocked now. Azul, in stark contrast to Jade, is shocked silent.

"You're fluent in nine languages?" Well, O probability should have considered that most people would be suprised.

"What do you mean, made?" Oh, Ashengrotto can still talk? I was worried I had hurt his voice.

"Well, I was made in a lab. They started with a blacktip reef shark embryo, then altered the DNA bit by bit to make a mershark. Then they wanted to test my learning ability, so..."

For a solid minute, nobody speaks. Then,

"How would you like to work at the lounge?"

Everyday Freak of Science: part 3

(I, the author of this work, do not consent to this work being crossposted/translated without my knowledge or used to train an AI, ever.)

Masterlist

Work at the lounge? Well... potentially? It depends. I can't really see a downside, but that's because I don't know anything about this place, really.

Jade's voice interrupts my train of thought. "You don't happen to have a cell phone, do you?"

What the hell is a cell phone? I know I don't have one- the only thing I'm carrying is the "magic pen" I got after the entrance ceremony- but still, what the heel does that mean?

My confusion must show on my face, because Jade asks, "Ah, do you not know?"

"Not one bit."

"Do you have money? Clothes? You need uniforms to attend, you know."

"Oh. So... am I going to have to leave?" What happens if I can't attend? Will I be shipped back to the lab, or will I just be tossed out on the streets?

"Well," Azul jumps in, "I could arrange for you to work at the lounge year-round in exchange for uniforms, a cell phone, and other necessities."

I don't need to think about this. That lab was boring and miserable; this place is new and facinating.

"Deal."

Azul's face lights up, figuratively. "Wonderful! Now, if you could just sign this..."

He places a glowing piece of what looks to be a scroll on the desk in front of me. I can read it, of course, but there's just one problem:

"How do I sign it?"

"Ah, like this." Jade places a pen in my hand before he positions his own over mine, tracing my name in loopy letters onto a piece of paper he just grabbed.

Although it takes a few minutes, I can soon sign my name. The instant I do so on the scroll, Azul pipes up again.

"Wonderful! Give me until tomorrow and I'll have a phone for you. Oh, and here." With a wave of his staff, some fabric is floating in the air and onto my lap. "Those are your uniforms. The white one is for potionology, the lavender one is a dorm uniform, the dark grey ones are for P.E. and general classes, respectively, and the teal ones are pajamas. Let me know if any of them are the wrong size."

All this... for me? Incredible. Even back in the lab, I only got nice things as tests- experiments, meant to learn more about me without cutting me open. All of this- what's the word- hospitality is new to me, entirely. Maybe it's not kindness, but it's benevolent- how fitting.

"Requiem? Are you there?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Um... thanks for asking, Jade."

"Fufu. Perhaps it is best you be off to bed. I shall escort you."

He walks me down the now-quiet hallways, left hand on my right shoulder. When he opens the door, there's someone in the right bed- guess that's to be expected- and, with a wave of his wand, Jade has swapped the ceremonial robes I was wearing with the pajamas in the stack of fabric in my arms.

"Thanks, Jade." I'm so lucky to have him around. What would I do without him? Get sent back, probably. Just when I think I'm safe, though, he leans down and whispers:

"I noticed you did not eat dinner. Do not worry, I will bring you some fresh meat in the morning."

Crap.

Everyday Freak of Science: part 4

(I, the author of this work, do not consent to this work being crossposted/translated without my knowledge or used to train an AI, ever.)

Masterlist

I can't sleep. I'm not used to having to lull myself away, after all- back in the lab, sleepless nights were thwarted with drugs, lightly dispensed into my tank until I was away and dreaming. This is different. I thought the lack of machines I'm hooked up to would make it easier to sleep.

Sigh. I should just get up and change- that's what my roommate's done, after all.

Okay, this outfit... looks great! The gold on the lapels of the jacket, the pale blue vest thing, the comfy pants- oh, I might need to take another potion soon.

The door opens quietly.

"Requiem, I've brought your potion and breakfast. If this is not enough, then you are free to get more portions from the dorm lounge- or the Monstro Lounge, if you have the funds."

"Uh, thank you, Jade."

Oh, thank the higher-ups! He has my potion. And, even better- there's algae on my plate! What a relief. I don't want to eat meat- it's never just been on my tongue, always getting forced into me by a scientist.

I don't want to think about that, so I'll just drink the potion and eat the algae. The potion is surprisingly savory, with a tiny hint of sweet, and the algae is terrible, but it's not meat- not that horrible taste and texture that make me gag, that were always forced down my throat because I could never bring myself to eat them.

Trauma. That's the word. I stopped eating one day, and then I was force-fed, and then I never wanted to eat again. It was always meat.

Admittedly, the reason it was always meat was an excellent one. I can't digest plant matter, though I don't know if that's a species thing or a lab creation thing.

Ugh. I should go and eat.

Ooh, this place is nice! The lighting is ambient, it's not too bright, and there's a big table of food. Sea grasses, algae, and the dreaded crustaceans, fish, and seagull all line the table, piled high atop shiny plates.

I'm not taking any meat. In fact, I'm here to return some. Sure, I can't gain from the plants, but I'm not someone who likes eating meat. I should be, but I'm not.

Whatever. The mullet slides onto the plate easily enough, and nobody saw. I don't need to eat much anyway, right? If I just try, I'll be fine, even with an empty stomach.

Even if it's false, I'm still going to dream.

Okay, I should meet with Azul to discuss my phone. That's a good distraction. Where is that office?..

"Hello, Melanopterus. Is there something you need?"

"Phone."

"Ah, but of course! Here you are. I doubt you'll have time to set it up before class, though... You'll probably have to manage that after or during dinner."

"Alright, thank you."

I ought to go to class.

First period is tiring. My lack of sleep makes it ever-worse, as does my empty stomach. I faint, at some point- my rescuer, the boy who carries me to the nurse's office, is very, very loud. Sebek, he calls himself, but I imagine many call him boisterous. His voice booms. Nevertheless, he carries me to safety, unprompted.

Second period is boring. I remain conscious only by doodling in the margins of the notebook Jade so kindly left on my nightstand this morning, with a pencil he so kindly left with it.

Third period is fascinating. Though I fight it the whole way through, I can still feel nausea building up in my abdomen. I harness that, turning it into focus on the given tasks. Learning about the Sea Witch is more than enough to keep me from going to the nurse, though.

And then, lunch. I'm terrified, to be honest- what if Jade realizes I can't eat plants? What if Azul insists I eat lunch with him to set up my phone?

Oh, no. The nausea is stronger now, stronger now that I can smell the food. Meat- lots of it. I want to eat some, and I want it as far away from me as possible- biology versus psychology, and I can't win.

Turtle grass. I'll take some of that. I was never fed that in the lab. It tastes like something inedible, and it technically is, but I don't care-

Oh, no. The nausea is too much, I'm going to vomit, I need a bathroom, where's the bathroom? I can't keep this down. I can't. Is it here?

I burst into a stall, slam the stall door shut behind me, and release my breakfast and lunch into the water. Gross. But, hey, I feel a little better now.

Crap. I'm hungry again. It's more plant matter or meat. I don't want either one, but I'll go for the pants anyway- what's that sound? Heels clacking on linoleum.

"Requiem." Jade's voice is calm, with an underlying current of barely restrained anger. "What are you doing?"

"N-nothing, Jade, I just, um." He's looking down at me like I'm prey and he's predator. "I-I got nauseous during P.E. a-and it got worse when I ate. That's all."

"Look me in the eye, Requiem." He closes his right eye, leaving only the yellow one for me to stare into. "There we go. Shock the Heart."

Something overtakes me. What is this strange sensation? I feel idle- empty, but in a calm sort of way. It's...pretty comfortable, actually. I could get used to this.

"Why did you throw up?"

My voice speaks without me. For a moment, a brief moment, a surge of panic washes through me- I don't want to answer- and then it is calmed into nothing, washed away with the waves that exist only within me.

"I cannot digest what I have eaten."

Jade's gaze looks disapproving. "What did you eat?"

Again, my voice goes on without me, and the momentary wave of panic flows away as quick as it comes. "I had algae for breakfast, and turtle grass for lunch."

"What can you digest?"

"Meat."

He takes my face in his hands, pulling me into a standing position. "Why didn't you eat the mullet I brought you?"

"I don't want to eat meat."

"Why not?"

"I don't want to."

The spell dissapates. I remain, still and staring into his eye, for another second. Then, he moves.

"Come with me."

His hand is clamped around my wrist, and I have no choice but to do as he says.

Everyday Freak of Science: part 5

(I, the author of this work, do not consent to this work being crossposted/translated without my knowledge or used to train an AI, ever.)

Masterlist

As soon as my voice is under my own command again, I speak. "J-Jade, what's going on? W-where are you t-taking me?"

"It has become clear to me that you cannot be trusted with feeding yourself. As such, I will have to ensure you are eating properly- both in quantity and in content."

No. No. Is he really going to resort to that? No. No. No. Please, please no.

He opens a door and shoves me inside. Is this another office? There's a safe, a glass-topped table, two couches on either side of it... where is this?

The clacking of heels, approaching the door. They pause. Jade's voice interrupts the brief moment of silence.

"Pardon me, Azul. The VIP room is in use."

A sigh. "Jade, I've told you not to use the VIP room for lunch alone- be that by yourself or with Floyd."

"It's a rather urgent matter, Azul."

"Alright, fine... ten minutes."

Footsteps, again, leaving.

Okay. I have ten minutes. That's how long I have to survive.

The door opens. Jade enters, holding a plate of various kinds of fish- mullet, obviously, but also wrasse, shrimp, sturgeon, and cuttlefish. Not one hint of green is on that plate.

"Come on, Requiem. Open up." He stabs a piece of cuttlefish with his fork and holds it up to me.

I don't want to. He's just going to force it into my throat- I don't want that.

"Come on." His voice is surprisingly soft and gentle.

"No." In contrast, my voice is firm and wavering; unsure.

He sighs. "You leave me no choice."

I close my eyes for only a second before opening them to see Jade waking over to me, fork in hand, plate in other. He takes a seat next to me and puts the plate onto the table. Then, his free hand is opening my mouth; bracing it to keep me from closing it.

I close my eyes and brace myself for the inevitable force-feeding. Please, higher-ups, don't let this happen.

My mind is on the brink of breaking, I can feel it. Fragments of memories I want to forget tap at the sides of my thoughts, threatening me with reliving them if this keeps going the way it has so many times before.

A piece of cuttlefish is placed gently on my tongue. My recollection sabotages my sense. Shards of my past form into stained glass windows, depicting what I yearn to never see again.

A researcher, dressed in a white lab coat stained with blood, holds a pair of tongs, a piece of cuttlefish clutched tightly in them. Another researcher and another still, white-clad bodies in the corner of my vision, blue latex gloves holding my mouth wide open. I scream. The cuttlefish is forced into my unwilling mouth, down my throat, and, though I try, down it goes. Any human in my position would cry, but I can't. My eyes just don't do that.

I gasp. Where am I? Where are they? What... what room is this?

Slowly, my vision steadies, and the blurriness gives way to a shape. Several shapes. And colors, cool colors. Purple... a couch? There's some teal... a black stripe?

Oh, that's Jade. I can see the whites of his eyes better than I can see his irises. Wait, there's someone else, with off-white hair...

"Azul?"

"I heard screaming," he clarifies. "What's going on?"

"Requiem, are you okay? You just fell to the ground," Jade starts, entirely ignoring a shocked Azul. "You seem calmer now... what happened?"

"I-I was there, back in the lab, they were- please, don't let them-" my voice breaks into a sob. Jade gets onto the ground, one knee on the floor, and holds my upper body against his own. Strong arms hold my weight and I lean into the warmth, desperate to eject that experience from my mind. When I pull away from him, I notice his jacket is darker where my face touched.

I raise a hand to my eyes. They're wet. I'm crying. Jade notices.

"The crying is an effect of the potion. I know, I know, it takes some getting used to."

Azul speaks up again. "What happened? Why is someone crying in my VIP room?"

Everyday Freak of Science: part 6

(I, the author of this work, do not consent to this work being crossposted/translated without my knowledge or used to train an AI, ever.)

Masterlist

"Azul, calm yourself. I can explain."

"You better, Jade," Azul starts up, "because doing what it sounds like you're doing is not something I am willing to tolerate."

"Mister Melanopterus has not been eating things he can digest. Upon realizing what he was doing, I took the matter into my own hands. Evidently, I misjudged something."

"Misjudged something?"

The housewarden sighs. "Misjudged what?"

Jade starts petting my hair. It's a nice sensation, and I allow myself to relax into his soft, comforting touch. "What additional affects there may be aside from a dislike of edible food that could cause an apex predator to starve themself."

"Rephrase that."

"I failed to consider that what could have made a blacktip reef shark intentionally avoid eating meat would also affect them when eating properly."

"Dumb it down, Jade."

Jade sighs. "Whatever causes an individual to avoid eating edible food must be traumatic to have that effect. Traumatic events tend to have multiple effects, and food-related traumatic events are bound to cause problems when eating. If these problems are significant enough, the individual may starve themselves. I only saw the starving part, and failed to consider that its cause was significant issue when eating correctly."

Jade then tilts his head. "I was under the impression that you were intelligent enough to understand me the first time. You usually are- has something changed?"

Azul fixes his glasses, sounding only a little annoyed now. "No. In fact, I did understand you the first time, but the noise means we are almost certainly going to have to fill out an incident report, and I don't trust Crowley to understand sentences of that complexity. Do not tell anyone I said that- and that goes for you both."

Jade and I nod before I shove my head back into the wall of muscle that is this triangle-toothed boy.

"Requiem. How do you feel?"

"I'm fine now, Jade."

"Jade? Jaaaaaaade? Where did you go?" The voice on the other side of the door is clearly annoyed, and apparently belongs to someone who's looking for Jade.

The doorknob turns and clicks a bit. I'm hit with the realization that the door is locked. Whoever's on the other side keeps trying for a few minutes, but soon gets bored and goes back to shouting for Jade.

...At least, that's what I think they do. Instead, just a few retreating footsteps later, the voice audibly grins. "Juuust kidding! I know you're in there, Jaaaade."

With that, the door opens. I can't see who comes through, but I can hear his conversation with Azul.

"Floyd! You know you aren't supposed to break things!"

"Eeh? I didn't break anything."

"Then what are you holding?"

"...A doorknob."

"My doorknob! To this room! Fix that right now!"

"Okaaay, octy-chan."

"And don't call me that!"

Jade stands up. I stand with him, keeping my face buried in his school uniform jacket and my arms wrapped tight around his waist. Before I can properly register what's going on, a hand threads into my hair.

"Be gentle." Jade's voice.

Entirely disregarding that, I am then yanked away from the person I've been clinging on to, and realize I am face-to-face with what looks like a fake Jade. This imposter doesn't fool me, though- his piercing is on the wrong side, and his eye colors are swapped from those of the real Jade. The streak of black in his otherwise teal hair is on the wrong side, and his eyes are tilted downwards instead of up.

So, naturally, I do the first thing anyone in my situation would do: bare my teeth, cling on to Jade harder with one arm, and sucker punch the fake with the other.

"Excuse me!" Azul shouts immediately when he registers that I've socked someone, clearly not realizing there's a fake Jade in the room. "Don't!"

The imposter's previously carefree expression quickly shifts to one of barely-restrained rage, and then Jade- the real Jade- talks.

"Floyd, don't. Requiem, for future reference, that was a terrible idea."

"Jade, he's impersonating you!"

"What?"

"Floyd" bursts out laughing, as does Azul. Jade is still too suprised-looking to react for a few moments, but he soon joins the other two with quiet snickers that soon become manic laughter. Only I am left utterly baffled by whatever the fuck is going on here.

"I apologize, this is entirely unprofessional." I can hardly make out his words; he's laughing so hard. Azul apologizing isn't what I expected; I more thought the fake would have to say sorry.

What if this fake Jade got caught and turned over a new leaf? Maybe then they gave him a name of his own- a middle-aged white guy's name, as punishment. That might make sense.

Well, only one way to find out!

"So you named your doppelganger, Jade?"

The three of them laugh harder. I'm pretty sure Jade is struggling to breathe, and, given that he's still holding me, I can't really breathe as well as I usually can, either. Then again, I'm on land, and I normally can't breathe on land at all.

For what feels like days, the three of them just laugh. Then, finally, Azul stops laughing for long enough to stop entirely, recompense himself, and talk.

"There is no imposter. The supposed doppelganger is Jade's twin brother, Floyd Leech. I take it the two of you have not met?"

Oh. Twins? That... makes a lot of sense. They must be fraternal- identical twins would surely have identical eyes, not mirrored in color and different in tilt. They look extremely similar for fraternal, though...

"Ah, they have now. As if anyone could impersonate me..." Jade says the last part very quietly, but I still hear. Big whoop, I was clinging on to him for dear life just an hour ago. Probably. These three were laughing for way too long, and I have a horrid sense of time. I'm not sure why.

Maybe this place has a library with psychology books...I'll check later.

"Ahaha! Good ol' Jade. Nee, why's this blackie-tip in here? Tryin' to scare me?" Floyd leans right into my face, triangular teeth on display. Most humans would probably fear him in my situation. However, I am no human. The nonshark DNA within my every cell was handcrafted, bit by bit, and added to a shark embryo, cell by cell. I was their greatest achievement. Their 18th lab's pride and joy, alive without machine assistance since March 16, sixteen years ago.

"Firstly, dear brother, this is a blacktip reef shark. Secondly..."

Something I don't like settles in my gut. How could I forget? All I've kept down is a single cuttlefish tentacle.

Crap. It's going to be a while.

Everyday Freak of Science: part 7

(I, the author of this work, do not consent to this work being crossposted/translated without my knowledge or used to train an AI, ever.)

Masterlist

Jade pauses, considering his next words. His apparent brother, however, either doesn't realize that or doesn't care, because he interrupts.

"Blacktip reef shark? Why's one of them in here?"

Jade doesn't sigh, but Azul does. How peculiar, the speaker doesn't mind it but the witness does.

"I was getting there, dear brother. This particular blacktip reef shark has some... issues involving food. He cannot digest plant matter, but appears to have flashbacks when eating meat."

"Flashbacks? To what?"

"To whatever made him stop eating meat in the first place."

"He looks frail."

Well, that's pretty obvious- no need to say it out loud, Floyd! I'm changing the subject. Passive aggression sounds really appealing right about now, too. I'm doing both.

"Thanks!" I beam.

Floyd, Jade, and Azul now all look baffled, but Azul remains silent. The twins do not, and their shared confusion reflects in their voices.

"Eeh? What's Melanopte-chaaaan talkin' about?/What exactly do you mean by that?"

Yes! They've taken the bait.

"Oh, y'know... the strongest ones always died first. Never really lasted more than a week, poor things. Being too weak just meant ya never made it into your water- you'd just never live over an hour, and they wouldn't waste a tank on ya. But, frail? That's the sweet spot. We frail ones got to live."

I'm not really lying, exept in one regard: the strong ones didn't die. The researchers would preserve them and they'd end up with a bunch of machines around them, keeping them alive and totally out of it. I don't feel like explaining that, though, so I summed it up as "died."

Jade is looking away. I saw him nod. Floyd, however, is staring right at me. I stare back, but only into his left eye- that encounter with Jade has taught me my lesson about looking Leeches in the yellow one.

Finally, Floyd asks me the question I've been waiting to hear: "What the fuck are you talking about?"

I grin. He's swallowed the lure, too.

"The lab I was made in."

Uncomfortable scilence. One second, two seconds, four. Five draws into six draws into seven draws into eight- still, nobody dares speak or move. Twelve seconds. Thirteen. Floyd's eyes dart around the room, fliting from me to Jade and back again. Behind the nervous, teal-haired boy, Azul blinks. The stillness settles back over the room. Eighteen. Nineteen. Twenty seconds, and nobody dares break this suffocating scilence.

Twenty-two. Twenty-three. An off-putting twenty-five. Azul inhales deeply and resumes his quiet, shallow breaths. Twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty. I can feel Jade's eyes darting around the room. My gaze sharpens. Thirty seconds of this, and all three of them have willingly kept it going. Minimal interruptions, and it's only growing longer. Thirty-eight, thirty-nine... Forty.

How odd. Humans hate scilence, do these ones love it? Peculiarities, all three of them. Forty-two, forty-three, forty-four... We're approaching a minute now, and not one of these three unusual people has break it for any longer than a second. Fifty. Fifty-one. Fifty-two. Floyd is glaring at me now. Fifty-four. Fifty-five. Just five seconds more, and it'll have been a minute.

Five. Four. Three. Two. One. At long last, the scilence is shattered, a voice that surprises me with the anxiety and fear behind it practically echoing in the small room.

"Jade, what the hell is he talking about?"

I suppress a laugh. Floyd sounds downright terrified. He's talking quickly and staring right at his brother, but does not twitch. Interesting.

Jade stands. I am suddenly supporting my own weight, and the unexpectedness of that leads to me kneeling on the floor for a quick second before standing on my own two legs. Let's pretend I didn't try to stand so fast I fell.

"Well..." Jade leans in and starts whispering in his brother's ear. I can't catch much, but the words "issue" and "experiment" are easy enough to pick out of the conversation.

"Oh, okay." Floyd sounds a little defeated now. I guess it's an improvement from "scared," at least for him. "Why don't'cha just try cooking it? I'll go and make something right now!"

Before I can properly register what he just said, the exited twin is out of the room. The door slams behind him. Jade sighs and turns to me.

"Regarding your eating disorder: is the taste the problem?"

"Uh... good question. Never thought about it." As embarrassing as it is (not much) to admit, it's true.

Jade closes his eyes and contemplates. As soon as he's done that, they're open again and there's a piece of salmon on his fork. I notice that one of the cutting tentacles is gone- did Floyd eat it, or did I just miscount them to start? Maybe I'm going insaner. Is that even a word? Case in point, I guess.

Azul sits next to me. "I take it you've never worked at a café before?"

I think back. Part of my puphood was media- anime, movies, books, even the occasional podcast. They were used for many things- teaching me, testing me, entertaining me- sometimes it was all three. Those days were fun.

"I'll take that as a no. Do you know how cafés work?"

Oh, that's right, I'm talking to Azul. "There were a lot of shows and books... I think, around half had a café of some sort. I've always thought they looked cool."

Secretly, I've always wanted to live in one. When I was really little, I thought café workers lived in their shops, sleeping in an unknown place in the back. When I got older, I was shown a book about a woman who got a job at a café, and that got cleared up. Still, my little fantasy remained.

Azul does the "pay attention to me" throat noise that humans make when they want people to listen to what they're trying to say. "Well, you're going to need training. Jade and Floyd will handle that, but you do need to pay attention, okay? You can't learn it if you don't try."

I nod. "Okay."

The door opens. Jade walks in, small, clear glass of water in hand. I didn't see him leave. Back in the lab, people leaving was just one of those things I learned to ignore.

He takes the fork from the plate, drops the salmon in, and stirs. I watch, entranced, and Azul pushes his glasses up on his nose.

He holds the glass up to my lips. "Try this." I obey.

An experiment, something different, to see if I'll eat on my own-

Jade is shaking me by my shoulders. My voice- I'm yelling, shouting for help. "Calm down, calm down. You're okay. Look around. See where you are?"

Jade sounds calm and collected, and I focus on his voice. Firm, but kind. I use that to ground myself.

"I-I... I think I'm okay now."

The door opens again. I freeze, momentarily failing to recognize the boy in the doorway as not-a-fake-Jade. However, my mind is pulled away from that as soon as I realize Floyd is carrying a plate with the cuttlefish tentacle and some sort of sauce on top, obscuring its shape.

"Here ya go!" His voice is cheery, uncharacteristic of the room and its vibe. It's a little nice, to be honest.

I take the plate and Jade hands me a fork. When I poke at the sauce, it reveals the tentacle to be darker than it was before.

Floyd grins. His teeth are slightly thinner than my own. "I grilled it."

Distantly, I hear Azul tell the twins they're going to be training me. He sounds like he's in the next room over- I'm too busy staring at the plate.

...Can I bring myself to eat this?